Metal bridging for floor-joist.



F. H. BEAM.

METAL BRIDGING FOR FLOOR JOIST.

APPLICATION FILED JULYZ, 1913.

Patentad Aug. 1l, 1914.

ff I inl FRED H. assu, or Kansas `cI'rY,lirlssonar.

METAL.` Bmnome ron rLoon-Jors'r.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

Application led July 2, 1913. Serial No. 777,068.`

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRED H. REAM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City,'in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metal Bridging for Floor-Joist, of which the following` 1s a specification.

My invention relates to metallbridging for fioor-joist, of the class shown and described in my application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed February 27, 1913, Serial No. 751,078, by means of which floor` joist are braced and trussed to carry compression and tension strains.

The objects of my invention are :'First, to

rovide a cheap, substantial and durable bridging-member, formed integral of a single strip of metal; second, to provide shoulders adjacent the middle of the bridging` member, adapted to bear against the sides of the joist, each of which shoulders is pro` vided with a pointed prong, adapted to be forced into the joist, to retain the bridgingmember in place; third, to provide pointed prongs on the opposite ends of the bridgingmember, adapted to pierce the joist, to reinforce the'fastening devices in the top of the joist; and fourth, to provide a hole, apertured through one end of the bridgingmember, adapted to be engaged by a lever, to draw the bridging-member to place when applying the same to oor-joist. These, and other objects, will appear in the following description, it being understood that changes' in form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to, within the scope of the appended claims. 1 attain these objects by the construction and arrangement of parts, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1. is a sectional View of a floor, supported by floor-joist, provided with my invention. Fig. 2. is a side elevation of my invention, partly sectioned, and illustrating the method of applying the bridging-mem'- ber. Fig. 3. is a plan view of my invention. Fig. 4. is a sectional view of a part of my invention, on the line I, I, in Fig. 5. Fig. 5. is a vertical elevation of a part of my invention, showing the prong integral with the shoulder; and Fig. 6. is a plan view of a modified form of the prong, ,formed on the end of the bridging-member.

Similar reference numerals refer to correspending parts throughout the drawing.

he numeral 1 indicates my improved bridging-member, from a strip of sheet metal, such 'as iron and steel, preferably alvanized iron, and which is of a length a apted to extend from the bottom of one ioor-jost to the top of the two next adjoinin Hoor-joist. A hole 2 is centrally aperture in the strip intermediate its length, and a hole v3 is apertured in the strip adjacent opposite sides of the hole 2. he apertures are provided for the entry of fastening devices 4, which pierce the bridging-member and the lath or boards used 'in providing a ceiling. r1`he terminal ends of thestrip are each provided with pointed of which are bent downwardly, to an angle a little in excess of a right angle, and adapt-` ed to be forced into the side of the floor joist, as shown at 7, 7, in Fig. 2. A hole 8 1s apertured in the strip, adjacent its one end, rearwardly of the prongs 6, through which hole a lever 9 is extended, to bear against the adjacent side of the joist, this provision enabling the bridging-member to be drawn to bear snugly upon the under edge of the joist resting on the middle of the bridging-member, after'the opposite end of the 'bridging-member has been secured to the joist, as shown in Fig. 2. A plurality of Small openings 10 are apertured in the strip, adjacent its opposite ends, through which fastening devices 11, such as nails, screws and the like, may engage the top of the j oist. From adjacent the middle of the strip, lengthwise considered, to adj acent the apertures 10, on both sides of the middle, the strip is indented and formed in angular shape, as shown at 12, in Fig. 3, for the purpose' of providing rigidity to the portions of the bridging-member involved in the operation mentioned, the ends of the angular indentation being slanted, to provide the shoulders 13, 13, adjacent the middle of the strip, and the shoulders 16, 16, adjacent the terminal portions of the same, which shoulders 13, 13, are adapted to vertically bear against the adjacent sides of the joist, when the bridging-member is bent upwardly on each side of its middle portion, to form upwardly-extending arms 14, 15, and bringing the shoulders 16, 16, formed adjacent prongs 5, 5, and 6, 6, the'tips I which I preferably make adapted to be forced into the joist, when the' shoulders 13, 13,- aref-bearing against the 'oist, and fori-he purposeof .retaining the ridge-member in place prior to the fastening of the ends of the arms to thenext ad= joining joist, on bothsides, the ends of the arms are fastened at thetime the floor is' llaid,'.and as effectively as i-the shouldersv had been pierced by nails or other fastening devices penetrating the joist. y The prongs 17 lare formed in the -face of the shoulders. 13, 13, by a triangular incision through their respective faces, the point of the prong being bent forwardly and. downwardly, as shown-in Fig. 5.

To apply my bridging-member, the middle portionof the bridging-member is placed to bear against the under edge of the joist 19, the shoulders 13, 13, on the` opposite arms bearing against: opposite sides of the joist, and the outwardly-bent end of the free arm 15 bearing upon the top edge of the next adjoining ]oist 20. The lever 9 is extended through the hole 8, to and against the outside of the adjacent vjoist 20, and a .pressure is outwardly ap lied to the lever 9,1 thus drawing the bridgmg-Inember tightlyl to place, thus securel retaining the4 adjustment obtained. -T e overhanging por-1 tions of the jarms are then bent down againstl the outer side of the joist, and the prongs 6,-

l 6, forced to pierce the sides of the joist. A?

bervconsisting of a stri I'posits endsZ beveled, t

bridging-member is similarly secured to each floor-joist, when the floor ,is laid in the customar manner.

flhe brldging-member is adapted to be applied without nails or fastening devices of any kind, excepting the prongs carried b the brid 'ing-member, as above' describe Thev bri ging-member is formed integral throughout, providing in one single member facilities for. its ap hcation to floor-joist, to effectively carry al compression and tension strains.

Whatlclaimis':

1. In a joist bridging, a metal bridge memof metal'formed with an upwardly' exten ing arm outwardl lof each side of the middle of the strip, eac

of said arms being provided lon 'tudinally with atrian lar shaped rib having its op-y posite ends eveled, the lower beveled end of each rib being providedintegrally with a pointed pron extending outwardly substntially at rig t angles lto said end ofthe r1 Y l 2. In a joist bridging, a metal bridge member consisting of a stri of metal formed with an upwardly exten ing armoutwardl of each side of the middle of the stri eac yof said'karms being provided longitu inally with a tri-angular shaped rib having its ope lower beveled end of 'each rib being provided integrally with a pointed pron extending outwardlyl subL stantially at rig t angles tosaid end of the rib, in combination with a pointed pron integral with each-of the terminal ends o the bridge members. y

i FREDH, REAM.

Witnesses:

ANNIE L. GREER, CLARA KIMBALIJ. 

